When you want to bring your product or service to a new market, you’ll need to look for a localization solution. It’s a process of adjusting the materials related to your business so that your new audience understands them. There are multiple ways to do that, depending on your service, product, or industry. App localization and content transcreation are two options.
When you partner with a company that offers localization as a service, you can seamlessly expand your business to new countries. It differs from globalization, which aims for a multicultural approach that isn’t tailored to one specific audience. You can find more details on the differences in this article. Here, we’ll focus on localization and plotting the right course for your business.
Understanding Your Business’s Needs for Global Expansion
If your business is currently preparing to expand, the process will create new needs for you to address. Moving into new markets can be risky and expensive. However, when done right, your business will grow, and your bottom line will show that your efforts have paid off. Before you begin, setting goals is crucial. Ask questions about:
- What do you want to achieve?
- Is it a long-term or short-term prospect?
- How will expansion impact your existing operations?
Next, it’s time to get practical. Think about capacity and legal and tax implications. Alongside market research, these factors will help you determine where to expand and why. Now, you can look at operational considerations.
- What kind of competition will you face?
- Will you need a multilingual content strategy?
- Do you need corporate translation solutions as part of your localization service?
Types of Localization Solutions to Consider
Once you’ve fully explored your goals and your needs, you’ll gain a better understanding of how to proceed. With your new market and goals identified, it’s time to gather information and look at the solutions required to make your move.
Your industry, product, the market, and what you’re aiming to achieve will determine the solutions that are right for you. We’ll explore some of the most common and popular options below. You can explore our full range of localization services to see how Language Network meets a variety of needs.
Website Localization
If a key point of contact is your website, then adapting a version for your new market is a top priority. This localization solution involves adjusting the user experience, text, visuals, and more to ensure it’s relevant. The final result should be relatable and perceived as trustworthy by the target audience.
Marketing Collateral
Communicating with the local market about your product or service is paramount. Your marketing material will need to match the needs and communication style of your audience. This solution, therefore, focuses on adapting marketing to the local culture, including choosing the right platforms, wording, and content.
Content Transcreation
When you expand your business, a new focus will be global content management. Transcreation goes beyond translating your content. It looks at adapting what you have to say into different messages that resonate with the local target audience. You maintain a style, tone, and context but adapt to fit the new environment.
International SEO
Your previous efforts will have focused on your website ranking in your home market. However, now that you have another local market to target, you need a localization solution to help you reach them. International SEO brings in new strategies for improving your ranking in specific languages and countries.
eLearning
If your business includes educational content in a digital format, then a specific localization process is necessary for those materials. It takes a step beyond translation as it looks at the layout and how information is presented. Plus, it takes into account the cultural and linguistic needs of the audience.
Audio & Video Localization
In the simplest form, audio and video adaptation means providing subtitles or dubbing in multiple languages. However, often, a more comprehensive localization solution is required to connect with audiences. It involves adapting the graphics and adjusting the cultural references to communicate and relate with your audience.
Mobile Apps Localization
If your service or product works through an app, then your solution will need to focus on that format. In this case, the localization service reviews the content, interface, and functionality. While taking into account business needs and original intent, adjustments are made to make the app more accessible to a local audience.
Cultural Consultation
Depending on your aims and business, you might need to do more work to understand the market you’re targeting. Consultation means getting local insight, and it can also involve reports, resources, and training for the relevant staff to equip you to produce appropriate and relevant services, products, and content.
How To Align Your Goals with the Right Localization Service Provider
As you move through the process, you’ll have worked out your needs and set some goals. However, to find the right match among the localization service providers, you’ll need to get more specific. Aligning with the right one means looking at what you aim to achieve, as well as your resources and capacity.
Finding a service that understands your business and your values is key. One of the most important factors, though, is cost. Some providers will offer a package, others will be able to tailor services to your needs, managing costs. Localization is often an ongoing process, not a one-off project, so you’ll need to plan for that, too. You can use our budget allocation guide to get started.
Evaluating Localization Companies: What to Look For
Finding and choosing the right company requires keeping certain points in mind. Use your market, the area, the localization solution you want, and your budget to guide you. When evaluating your options, look out for a provider that can deliver an approach unique to your industry.
The best localization platforms will be happy to share testimonials, their previous experience in the market, and how they work. On top of that, it’s worth asking about the tools and technology they use. Finally, think about your aims for growth. Ideally, you’ll find enterprise localization services that offer scalability to match your goals.
The Future of Localization: Adapting to New Technologies
In the last few years, there have been significant advances in localization technology for enterprises. Many of them are due to our increased ability to automate tasks. Another considerable advantage that is only now being harnessed is the use of machine learning and AI.
The natural language processing (NLP) capabilities mean that demanding tasks are streamlined. Analysis, translation, and adaptation can happen at a much faster rate, thanks to localization software for businesses. The partnership between AI and humans means speed and accuracy are achieved while keeping costs low.
Taking Your Next Steps
Localization is a crucial part of global expansion. To ensure success in new markets, it’s worth taking the time to identify the business needs of the project. That includes researching the new market and reflecting on your goals. After that, you’ll be in a position to review the potential localization solution or solutions to suit you.
We recommend thoroughly researching your options. You can then use your findings to evaluate potential providers. Choosing a professional localization company that matches your needs is the key to efficient localization processes.
Language Network has experience across several industries. We work with staff with different training and backgrounds to deliver the desired results. These strengths, combined with advanced technological tools, allow us to prioritize tailoring solutions to meet client needs.